The new meters for gas and electric use can communicate directly with PG&E, in theory allowing the utility company to more efficiently manage the energy grid.

However, after the new meters were installed in Bakersfield last year, customers complained of massive increases in utility bills.

Others object to the devices -- which communicate wirelessly -- out of misplaced concerns over electromagnetic radiation.

While PG&E says that customers simply weren't aware of how much electricity they were actually using, State Sen. Dean Flores demanded an independent audit of accuracy, and the company has admitted to some bugs.

The complaints and bad publicity about the meters are credited by PG&E opponents of helping to defeat June's Proposition 16, which would have made it more difficult for voters to approve public power programs like the one recently started in Marin County.